Buckets are well known in the art for moving material such as dirt, stone, coal, etc. In some instances, material, especially re-handled coal, does not evacuate from the bucket properly during a dumping operation. This is often attributed to sticking of the material such as coal in the corners of the bucket. This reduces the productivity of a mining, construction or similar endeavor and may also increase the amount of fuel used during these types of operations as the material packs into the bucket, adding weight to the bucket undesirably. More specifically, in a coal handling application, the increased fuel burn occurs as the packed coal is transported back from the intended destination, such as a hopper, to the origin of the coal, such as the pile of the coal.
FIG. 1 depicts a bucket assembly 100 that is known in the art that is susceptible to such packing of material within the interior of the bucket. The bucket assembly 100 defines an opening 102 that communicates with a generally enclosed interior. Starting from the rear of the bucket assembly 100 as shown in FIG. 1, the bucket assembly 100 includes a curved shell profile 104, manufactured from a single component, which is attached to a rear wall 106 at the top end of the shell 104. The other end of the shell is attached to the bottom plate 108 of the assembly 100. A top plate 110 is attached to the top end of the rear wall 106. The top plate 110 transitions to a spill guard 112 that is designed to funnel material into the interior of the bucket and prevent material from spilling out of the bucket. Reinforcing ribs 118 are provided that are attached to the top plate 110 and the spill guard 112, providing reinforcement for strength. Two substantially flat end plates 114, only one of which is shown, is attached to the side edges of the spill guard 112, top plate 110, rear wall 106, bottom plate 108 and shell 104. A front edge assembly 116 is attached to the front edge of the bottom plate 108 of the bucket assembly 100. This assembly has proven to be prone to material sticking and wear issues.